Organizational Media Futures is a blog on the evolving nature of media technologies and organizational change. Students and faculty contribute to this blog as members of the Cal State East Bay Media Futures Group, a nonprofit think tank emphasizing foresight as a critical tool for creating sustainable initiatives local and global.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Predetermined:Advertisements will continue to play a big role in society's trends. The ways in which advertisements are used will change as technology changes.

Critical Uncertainties:1.) Online networking websites are used as a way to have advertisements personalized and individualized based on their online profiles.2.) The increase in demand for credit cards forces companies to be created. These companies provide databases for advertising firms to research the purchases made with individual's credit cards.

Chapter one focuses on how defining organizational communication is always changing because of important social trends and new approaches to communication that come up. In order to effectively develop the practices of communication, new principles need to reflect on the on-going changes in society. I thought the section on multicultural management is something very interesting to read about. Multicultural management should be a top priority for managers because it is important to be flexible and adaptable to employee’s different cultures in order to create a comfortable, positive work environment. Diversity and religion are important elements to have in a workplace so managers must approach their employees with an understanding of various beliefs and values that could play a role in their work. Another interesting section in chapter one was about the meaning of work. There is an increase for people to want to go to work every day and have some positive mindset about their job. I definitely agree with this in that I want to wake up every day excited to go do what my job entails. I do not think it will be like that immediately, but I am willing to work hard to get there.

1. What are specific qualities are essential for leaders of public safety?2. How does your identity at work intersect with your identity at home?3. What is culture? How is an organization’s culture different than an actual ethnicity?4. How is organizational culture always changing? 5. Why is it important to know how to ask good questions? What are the differences in the outcomes of a good question compared to a bad question?

Things I’ve Learned

1. I learned that the practical view responds to managers’ desire for practical advice and specific communication strategies for enhanced competiveness and increased employee satisfaction.2. I learned an equitable transaction from a communication perspective is one in which all participants have the ability to voice their opinions and perspectives. 3. I learned that the character and complexity of organizational environment are influenced by customers, competitors, suppliers, relevant governments, and the physical setting. 4. I learned tat the term work/life conflict refers to the simultaneous influence of work on members’ lives away from work and the influence of personal life responsibilities and aspirations on members’ experience at work.5. I learned that the expectancy theory makes three assumptions about employee behavior.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

As a Reminder: Unfortunately i could not make it to Mike Liebold's presentation on November 20th. I had to attend training for work. Prof. Brooks allowed me to do the blog still.

In Mike Liebold's power point slides, he mostly talked about context awareness and the future. His topics are very interesting. i like the idea of urban surveilence, and military surveillance robots because our groups' scenarios was about surveilence to an extent. I liked how he included all the elements of communicating. For instance, cellular/mobile, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, TCP/IP, etc. As for sensing, he mentioned Barcodes, RFID, Mtion Sensors. The way he mentions these elements of communciating and sensing brings in ideas for the future. This also makes me wonder, what will it be like for the future? I liked his ideas about having smart rods and smart drivers. this is something we need now because of the traffic congestion that we have now. We do need an improvement.

Monday, December 10, 2007

The article I selected is Festering Wounds Impair Writers’ Talks, it is about a current issue that has been going in the entertainment industry. The reason why I chose this article because it relates to the concept in the book about “The Meaning of Work.” According to Eisenberg, Goodall and Trethewey states that “employees want to feel the work they do is worthwhile, not just a way to draw a paycheck.” And with current issue that has been going on in the last week about screenwriters who are on stike because they demanded longer contracts and higher pay.

It is important that employers carefully assess their employees on a continuous basis in order give their employees highest job satisfaction and at the same time achieve their objectives. As in the case with the entertainment industry, by not acknowledging the screenwriters’ effort and how much work they have put in to the studio, the result of it was that many screenwriters walked out on their jobs to form a strike. In addition, the meaning of work goes more than enjoying and being in a job that one thinks is worthwhile, it is a combination of having opportunities to participate in the organization in term of decision making and job security. Because screenwriters feel that their contacts are not being extended and that once the contracts are expired then there would not be anymore contracts thereafter; therefore, the purpose of organizing a strike by these screenwriters is to try to negotiate with the studios so that they can have a longer contracts that allows them the security that the job offers.

Without thinking that the job is worthwhile to do, then employees are more likely to be stressed out. As evidenced by the screenwriters in Hollywood, once employees are dissatisfied with their jobs, there are many costs that may be associated with this. For example, with the entertainment industry, due to the lack of screenwriters, there has been a lot of reruns on a couple of shows. If reruns are occurring repeatedly, then the studios may lose a lot of revenue from advertising. So, organizations nowadays need to understand what does work mean to them and provide the right person with the right job to increase employees satisfaction and productivity will follow.

Employee empowerment is an important concept that organization should strongly consider because doing so would allow the company to achieve its maximum potential in terms of being competitive and sustainable in the industry. The movie Office Space clearly indicates the lack of employee empowerment; as a result, its employees are not motivated to do the followings: 1. Get the work done. 2. Being productive. 3. Actively involved or engaged in existing or new projects due to the lack of rewarding. 4. Found no purpose of doing the work.One way Initech could do to motivate its employees is to change the attitude of its top management. Because Peter’s boss did not show any concerns about Peter; therefore, Peter’s performance was not up to the expectations. For example, when Peter’s boss wanted him to work over the weekend, Peter’s boss did not ask whether if he actually agree to work, but the boss said that “Oh by the way, you have to coming during the weekend to finish up the work.”

After having changed the management attitudes towards its employees, a reward program should be implemented. When employees are being rewarded for a project that they have done successfully at it, it motivates the employees to perform better on the subsequent projects. As a result, the company will be able to maintain its competitiveness as well as be sustainable in the industry.

While watching the movie, Peter said that “human beings are not meant to sit in a cubicle all day.” I can relate to that because I am currently working right now, and most of the time I spend at work is sitting in a cubicle and starting at the computer. It is sometimes very depressing because it feels as if you are sitting in a box with now windows and you are stuck in their for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The movie makes a good point by saying that because I think that most people who are working in an office environment all complain about sitting in cubicle. They said that it was so isolated and that they wish somehow work would be more fun.

The automobile industry will shift its production to produce only hybrid cars in order to be economically efficient and to maintain their competitive in the market.

Predetermined elements:Due to limited natural resources and the rising of gas price, in the year 2017 the automobile industry will shift its production to produce only hybrid cars. Hybrid cars are more fuel efficient and they that consume less fuel. In addition, companies are being pressured by external factors such as the environment and the government; the environmentalists demand that the automobile companies to manufacture cars that pollute fewer emissions that regular cars. Hybrid cars have known to pollute less emission, up to 90%, than regular cars, so it would be more environmentally friendly to make hybrid cars.

Will car manufacturers have the capability to make all hybrid cars in the year 2017? Will the technology be more advanced so that it would be more efficient for car manufacturers to shift its production to hybrid cars? To what extent does hybrid cars would be more environmentally friendly than regular cars? Will the consumers favor hybrid cars over regular cars and will car manufacturers be prepared to tailor their productions to both the consumers’ and regulators’ demand?

The movie Gattaca portraits a male dominant society because the majority of the members in Gattaca is Male. Another observation I have is that men tend to be more persistent in term of achieving their goals than women. For example, despite the heart problem Vincent face, he was persistent in obtaining his goal. He went an extra mile to create a whole new identity for him by falsifying himself.

As far as technology is concerned, it does not necessarily mean that genetic superiority would always win. Even though Vincent’s brother had the superior genes from both of his parents, he lost to Vincent to the swimming bets. The ideology that plays out in this movie is that superior genes would be better at anything over inferior genes. It assumes that people who have superior genes are by far more intelligent and more qualified for anything over of those with inferior genes

Thursday, December 6, 2007

At Intuition Networks we are committed to safety and innovation in transportation and we have positioned our organization with a strategy that distinguishes us in the social and economic landscape. We see ourselves as part of a cooperative effort to better the environment as well as the lives of our customers.

We continually focus on improving and maintaining the quality of our products.Through focus group research we determined that the public was ready for a car that would drive itself so that they could safely engage in social or business conversations while riding to their destinations, either in face-to-face meetings with the other passengers in the vehicle, or through their cellphones and computers.

All of our employees are inspired by the mission we have of eliminating transportation accidents while contributing to a cleaner environment. We offer state of the art training programs which provide continuous learning opportunities to support the advancement of employees within our company. The enormous increase in our company’s stock value over the past 10 years is a direct reward for our employees who are also shareholders in our company. Based upon Stanley Deetz’ multiple stakeholder model, our company has dedicated itself to serving our customers and employees, as well as the global ecology.

Product Development

At Intuition Networks we determined that people were ready to let our company do the driving once we proved the overall safety of our networked transportation system. To meet this goal we formed strategic alliances with the National Science Foundation, the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, Intel, the award-winning Stanford University Transportation team and the Honda Research Institutes. We gained national recognition by creating robot vehicles which were then used in combat zones for transporting supplies, saving many lives of those in military service. We carried out an intelligent publicity campaign, achieving substantial news media coverage of our safe and successful networked transportation system in action. We showed how it would work in urban environments as well as on interstate freeways. We displayed a comprehensive 100% safety record in all transportation environments and our product was accepted by the public.

Our product operates using Stanford’s Velodyne and lidar technology. The Velodyne sensor uses 64 lasers that capture a million data points per second. This allows our vehicles to see a distance of 200 yards, in all directions, in 3 dimensional views. We also use lidar sensors, a light-based radar system to provide close-up vision for viewing pedestrians and other objects. In addition, our cars also use sensitive GPS systems to direct themselves.

In 2007, the number of deaths due to roadway accidents in the United States was nearly 50,000. By taking out the element of driver error, our product has reduced that number substantially. Our company has now achieved automation of private transportation in the United States and many other nations such as Japan, Canada and France.

Product Differentiation

Our product is the vehicle of the future that will revolutionize our current beliefs and change our ideals and expectations for our cars and car companies. At INTUITION, we are not simply selling you the best car out there; we are selling a service and a lifestyle. We are concerned with every individual who buys our product and ongoing communication will ensure customer satisfaction. Everyone who invests in our vehicle will be matched with a company representative who will be a personal point of contact for all of their needs. This representative will extend beyond the typical role and be more a friend to the customer than just merely a contact to the company.

Our company desires to communicate a personal interest in the lives of our customers. Through constant communication with our customers through representatives, focus groups and company gatherings, we receive better feedback and in return fully accommodate individual’s needs and desires. Part of our service will entail vehicle modifications at any point in the life of your vehicle. Whether it is for life changes or purely cosmetic, we will be there to assist our customers every step of the way. For example, if your work needs change and you would like to create a more office-like atmosphere inside your vehicle or if you get married or anticipate the birth of a child, being in direct contact with an INTUITION representative will ensure that changes are made so that your vehicle is suited to your tailored needs.

With a variety of options to choose from, customers who buy our vehicles will have complete creative freedom to design the car perfect for their desires and needs -- the possibilities are endless. Your vehicle can then become an extension of your office and with the driverless technology that our cars will possess, you can get a head start on your workday as we drive you to the office. TV’s, computers, internet access, mini bar, fridge, stove or microwaves can be installed in your vehicle. If you can imagine it, we can create it.

We strive to have more and more of our vehicles on the roads and have made them as affordable as possible. Since our customers work hand in hand with our design technicians, you are able to create the car that is within your individual budget. Federal, state and local governments have created incentives such as rebate programs to help individuals buy our personal transportation vehicles, both because of the increase in safety as well as the zero emissions pollution standards our vehicle have.

Although our driverless automobiles require very little participation by it’s occupants, “drivers” will still be required to be licensed by the state. We understand that there are times when our customers will want to drive in the traditional sense, so our vehicles will have the capability to be taken out of the “automatic” drive mode.

We believe in our product 100% and feel that our service and safety are unmatched, and we hope to see a shift towards seeing primarily our vehicles on the roadways. We can accommodate any lifestyle, any budget and all requests for vehicle design. In doing this we, INTUITION Networks, believe we have created a product that is accessible to people in all walks of life. We are a people-based organization and customer service and satisfaction are our ultimate goals.

Organizational Life of 2017

Our company, with the assistance of the Danal Organizational Consulting Group, has formulated a workplace democracy strategy that empowers employees by leveling the playing field. Traditional hierarchies that characterize so many companies have been eliminated and replaced by teams comprised of specialists who are equipped to manage themselves. Without the interference and intimidation of managers paid to supervise and report to those higher up, the voice of the worker flows unrestrained. Decisions are made collaboratively based upon the contributions of every team member. Participation on everyone's part is encouraged and rewarded. An employee stock ownership program, which encourages employees to work hard so that their share of company stock will increase in value, has been implemented. Our stocks are given as a gift to workers who demonstrate consistency in their work and enthusiastic participation in company decision-making. When monetary gain is tied to people's contributions, they are motivated to invest even more of their best efforts into their work.

Our hiring practices zero in on job candidates who are the very best fit for the positions they are hoping to fill. Individuals are not hired simply because they can get a job done. Rather, they are placed in positions where they can flourish based upon their natural strengths and abilities. We believe that work should not be drudgery, but rather an outlet for creativity and innovation. When employees are enjoying their work, they are motivated to produce even greater results and that excellence will be reflected in high quality work and strong relations between team members.

Our company strives to keep our employees as happy as possible. We recognize that everyone who is involved throughout each step of design, manufacturing, marketing, and sales deserves recognition for a job well done. Regular celebrations honoring employees at every level encourage their participation and also foster community.

Each of our employees receives full medical benefits. Ensuring that they are well cared for outside of work will guarantee that workers are at their best for work. The health of our company is dependent upon the health of its team members. Wellness workshops encourage employees to be good to their bodies and care for themselves.

Our company recognizes the work/life conflict that is present for its employees. We know that while people are on the job their minds are on what's going on at home and we are also aware that people who are at home are thinking about what's happening at work. To help remedy the work/life conflict for its employees, our company has made it one of its top priorities to create a workspace environment that is comfortable not only for those who are working but also for their families. Moms who want to spend time with their young children have the option of placing them in a day care on the premises. This childcare facility is fully equipped with cameras and other monitoring devices, and video will be streamed directly to the computer of the mothers. That way they will be at ease knowing that their children are nearby and well cared-for.